Home Late
by shadowhunter123246
Summary: Regina gets home late from work super exhausted so Emma helps her get ready for bed. Set any time after the first curse breaks. Established SwanQueen. Originally posted on AO3 in 2016 /MLm5sj


Emma was sitting in the living room of 108 Mifflin when she heard the front door finally open. She had received text messages from Regina saying that she would be running a few hours late due to some last minute meetings regarding reparations throughout Storybrooke after the latest villainous mishap.

She was expecting her girlfriend to come home late, but not at, Emma looked at the clock, 12:43 am. She rose from her spot, laying the book she was reading down on the coffee table and made her way to the front door to greet Regina. Just before rounding the corner, she heard what sounded like fabric falling to the floor, followed by an annoyed huff. "Hey, Regina," Emma called just as she finally got her in her sights. She only received a strange grunt in return.

Regina was standing at the table next to the door slipping off her heels in what can only be described as a drunken manner. Her winter coat lay in a heap on the tiles and she held onto the table for balance as she removed her remaining shoe and simply dropped it onto the floor. Very un-Regina like. Raising her eyebrows and reaching to steady Regina, Emma asked, "Are you drunk?"

"Mm… tired," She managed, finally turning to Emma. She had to chuckle at the sight. Regina had her eyes half closed, shoulders slumped, and head leaning into Emma.

"Wow, I figured you'd be tired, but not _exhausted_." Emma was truly enjoying herself. Madame Mayor was always cool and collected and right now she looked about ready to pass out, not a care in the world as to how she looked.

"Hmm," She huffed. "Idiots at the meeting kept going 'round in circles," she wrapped her arms around Emma's waist leaning fully on her, "and couldn't decide on the monetary details of the reparations so I just…" Regina leaned back to squint into Emma's eyes and flicked her wrist, "poofed… the buildings fixed." Emma laughed even more. Regina Mills did not use the word _"poof"_ to describe magic.

"Ah, I see, so you drained yourself and became drunk with sleep deprivation?" All Emma got in return was an unintelligible mumble into her shoulder where the brunette currently had her face buried. It sounded a lot like no, you're drunk. "Did you drive like this? You know, drowsy driving is just as bad as-"

Regina turned her face to the side and cut her off, "Drunk driving, yes, I knoow, Sheriff. I temporarily enchanted the car to prevent any swerving and whatnot."

Emma chuckled and said, "Good, well, c'mon, Madame Mayor. Let's get you ready for bed." When Emma pulled away from her and began pulling her along, Regina full-on pouted at the loss of contact, but followed anyway. "Careful with the stairs." Regina really did look like a zombie, moaning in reply, feet dragging.

When they got upstairs, Emma made sure to whisper in the hallway since Henry had already gone to sleep a few hours prior. "Henry and I got takeout from Granny's earlier." She turned to glance at Regina with a proud smile, "He aced his math test, by the way." Eyes completely closed, Regina smiled a sleepy smile.

"He's… smart boy," she mumbled, being led into their master bedroom. Emma quietly shut the door behind them and took Regina into the bathroom to take her makeup off. She pulled a makeup wipe from the dispenser and turned to Regina. _Well, I don't have to tell her to close her eyes._

"Come along, let's get your makeup off." Regina tilted her head back in the exaggerated manner of a drunk and leaned into Emma again, wrapping her arms around her middle. Emma cupped her jaw to try and hold her head still and began gently wiping away the makeup. First the eyes, then lipstick, then foundation… "You know this'll be easier if your head wasn't lolling around," and Regina simply mumbled a weak apology and huffed what was supposed to be a laugh. "Wow, you are totally gone," Emma chuckled. Her heart warmed at the thought that she was one of only two people that got to see the former Evil Queen this way. Walls down, trusting wholeheartedly, _now makeup free_ , she thought when she was done. The whole time, Regina had a small smile on her face, content that she had someone to take care of her when she needed it. If it was just her, she would have simply knocked out on the bed, fully-clothed with makeup and dealt with it all in the morning or later that night.

Emma disposed of the wipe and pulled Regina back into the bedroom, sitting her on the edge of the bed while she fetched her pajamas. Looking back at Regina from the closet, she figured that an oversized t-shirt would have to do, given that the woman didn't seem cooperative enough to get into a shirt and pants set. She got an old _Singlebrooke_ shirt that the mayor apparently got back when the business first opened, and brought it over to where Regina sat slouched on the bed. Emma took Regina's suit jacket off then said, "Alright, arms up," and Regina raised her arms in the air like she was on a rollercoaster and waited while Emma pulled off her blouse. Once she got the t-shirt on her, she said, "Okay, arms down and stand up." She did as asked, and pulled Regina's pants off after unbuttoning them, and chucked all the clothes in the hamper.

To keep herself steady, Regina held a fistful of Emma's shirt as the blonde pulled the bedsheets back and rearranged the pillows so they could lie down. "Alright, in you go, 'Gina."

"Said, don't call me that," Regina mumbled, though Emma knew she didn't mind the name at all since a warm smile graced her face.

"Yeah, yeah." Once she was tucked in, Emma began walking away from the bed.

"Where… you going?"

"Just changing for bed," Emma reassured her, getting her own set of pj's from the closet. After getting dressed, she slid into her side of the bed and turned to Regina, who faced her and curled up into her side, head resting just below Emma's chin.

Emma heard a quiet, "love you," from the brunette, and felt a feather-light kiss against her neck.

"Love you," Emma whispered back, and wrapped her arms around her, joining her in sleep.


End file.
